1970 DORMOBILE - COMPLETE RESTO - IT PASSED :)

[pinheaduk]

ok cant do much today as i need some space and its peeing it down , but i did manage to do something i forgot hehe, i havent done the track covers on the van.

they had a load of filler on the top curve as the old owner decided to fill the gap between the van and the cover rather than use the little rubber seal - what a dick

so ened up using wire wheel on grinder and took them back to bare metal and they are in great condition suprisingly

then i stuck some etch primer on them both, one has a slight run as this stuff is like spraying water but not going to argue, and hopefully when it clears up can get the top coat on

also dug the bumper outfrom under all the crap on the scaffolding shelf in the garage and its rust free thank god but looks like it has been bumped either on this van or another as it has a nice sized bend, hopefully wont be to difficult to sort out

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have also started to add the wires for the roof lights and door lights, have got some pre made wires that came with the lights but having to cut and splice them due to the light fittings wont go through the roof supports and hopefully this week i can get the window lining in and the roof done.

I have got some oatmeal carpet from the dready trago mills which was a bargain, so that will be installed similar to alfies bus and my old bay. the headlining is a light beige colour which was a bargain at £1.97 a mtr and is very sturdy stuff

i just want to get it out the the garage onto the drive for the first time in over a year. saying that the poptop needs sanding and painting, but that is a garden sunny day job

 

[pinheaduk]

another topsy turvy day mainly due to the crappy bodge work by the previous owner who i shall nickname [TOOL ]

got the top coat of paint on the track covers which is good

also painted the steering wheel but gave it a coat of barcoat and then primer before the pastel white just to make sure
looks pretty cool, bugger to keep clean though

i also gave the ash tray, glovebox lid and the dash vent stripes a barcoat and primer before painting them

i have also got the wiring in place for the roof lights, the lights im going to use are some i got off the carboot for £2 - bargain , they swivel/tilt so can aim them where i want

the downside to today was that the rear bumper is rust free but my got the amount of filler that came off it when i bare metalled it was outstanding, looks like its been beaten with a hammer all ver it the amount of dents its got and the dash top rubber thingy that joins the top dash to the bottom dash as glued together so when i got it down from top of garage it just snapped which really pissed me off so if anyone has one cheap , i dont need the handle as thats fine suprisingly

got the rear lights back in and working on the fronts but the paint hasnt fully cured yet so there are a few tiny scratches around the lights, so im thinking of leaving the van for a few days to give it time to harden

 

[dubdubz]

i then moved onto the aposts and sanded back until i got the shape right on the n/s [havent finished the o/s yet] but its getting there

n/s lower

n/s upper

i then sat the screen in loosely to see the lines and im very happy with the fit, i also took a photo of the o/s to see how it looks before i start sanding it back

n/s

o/s still needs a bit of sanding but the shape is there

interested in 2 things....how did you build up the shape of the bottom screen/a post curve ....mine is the same a gap.

also is the paint 2k or cellulose?

thx good work

 

[pinheaduk]

i used very small amounts of filler to shape the line, doesnt take too long as you dont need to much as your only doing the line rather that the ledge so to speak.

the paint is a mixed alkyd or 2k/synthetic paint which is less harmfull than 2k and the fumes were harmless

 

[dubdubz]

how does it go on?[I mean how does it feel in use?] and can you cut it /polish it when cured? sorry for q's but very interested..........

 

[pinheaduk]

yeah its a great paint to use, its basically 2k paint so can cut polish etc but with 2k you mainly spray it on let it dry then put clearcoat on and cut and polish that

 

[pinheaduk]

ok started o put the lights and electricas back in today and a few other bits

rear lights going in, starting to look like a van

front

THEY WORK, you would not believe how many photos it took to time the indicators lol

the wiper motor and mechanism was a bit tricky as one of the spidles had rusted and when switched on turned the shaft and column together which is not good, so after lots of sanding swearing, tapping, hitting i managed to get it free and was able to wet/dry the inner colum and the spindle and now it works a treat and moves freely

then put the wiper motor on the van and trail fitted the dash with the funky chill lights

at somepoint i will start the window lining and roof

 

[spenmiester]

cracking thread, looking forward to seeing the end results

 

[pinheaduk]

ok cant do much this easter weekend as usual i got roped into [should i say dragged] work for the missus dad this weekend and with the cornwall swapmeet on sunday cant do much but had a few friends over to see the bus and all they can say is

WOW, NICE and what you going to call her????

i always liked BITCH as when your going slow uphills its the first thing in my head, "come on you bitch get up there

i quite like DORMOBELLE
kinda catchy eh only problem with a female name is the man stripes

how bout DAVE

any ideas, the name is going on the back of the van so the winner gets a bevvie

 

[gninnam]

WIMP (Most men are and when it struggles to get up them hills........ )

 

[ground hugger]

DAVE Can't go wrong "Come on dave you can do it get up there" :lol: ....Dave

 

[freddie]

Nice Bay, love the dash lights

He looks like a Harry to me

 

[dubdubz]

Huey or Hank

 

[pinheaduk]

been a week or so since last updaete due to building some new drains for a house exstension which was pain, as the gf's dad had me dig a 6tf wide hole 6ft deep to find the drain after me telling him it wasnt there, but it all got sorted in the end

got the rear light back off my mate who borrowed it for mot, so all the exterior lights are now done and all working so shouldn't fail on that

been doing a bit more on the interior, and started on the roof lining as bagged a bargain length of carpet and a lovely colour which suits the van, and also got some more vinyl which was used on the seats to go around the windows so it ties in with the upholstery

first off i did the front area which has been done in a way which is easily removeable inacse i need access for more wiring etc

shows the colour, sort of a light brownish beige

as you can just see i havent done around the front area where the rear view mirro goes as i havnt figure out if im using that area yet or quite how to do it nicely

glued and clamped in place with the crappest bulldog clips ive ever bought

then did the strips running down the sides of the dormobile roof, very similar to how they would have been but without the carpetting and the lights

 

[pinheaduk]

the next day the headlining went in around the windows and i asked my mum for help as i didnt want to piece it so i needed a hand with the bg length on the o/s and she sneaked into the pic

thanks mum

then the side panel went on the n/s and i checked the lights were working when the door is opened and with the switch, all good

i was dying to stick my new sliding window in which i bought at cornwall jamboree LAST YEAR hehe, so that went in next
nice, very tempted at a later date to get all four of em done

then the light panel and did same test as before

today [sunday] i got the other rear windows in, havent done the rear hatch yet as cant find the rubber [i say that a lot ]

then i had to get a 8by4 sheet of hardboard and strapped it to the roofrack, than got the builder merchants is only 500m or so away as it was all over the place hehe, i wont be carrying this floppy stuff anymore, ply is find but this NO NO

anyways got the shape right after about 10 testfits and then covered with the nice carpet, by this time my hands were on fire due to the carpet burns

i also fitted a piece to the inner hatch area to cover the hatch bars etc and its looking good so far, just extremely pissed off with some 3mm drill bits i bought from focus, decent bosch ones and all 4 of them snapped as soon as they touched the van, not a happy bunny so the rear roof is half on at the moment

sorry bout crap pic, bad light will do better ones tomorrow

also test fit of my steering wheel i painted pastel white and did the crack repair shown on this forum

ill finish the roof tomorrow after ive been to focus to get my money back for drill bits and been to the carboot looking for some funky bits

 

[BigG]

Looking good 8)
Love to see busses that are a bit different from the usual offerings.
The bit where your mirror goes looks pretty cool left painted IMO

 

[pinheaduk]

better picture of the rear roof, its slightly lower down the o/s that the near side but its only a temporary thing for the moment as a roof locker will be done at a later date

 

[pinheaduk]

ok today i decided to continue with a bit more interior prep by putting so self adhesive flashing tape on the inner panels as its a great sound absorption material and was recommended to me by a few other ppl and have seen it used in other restos

i also dug out my interior panels and marked up on the van where they go as i have to make two for the rear platform sides

heres one

the other is mid progress as im shaping the area around the pertrol filler neck

i want to do something different on all the door cards so im tempted to rip up a few old vw magazines and stuff and make a collage of various pictures, reviews, tech help etc and then cover it with clear adhesive vinyl to protect them and make them easy to clean

what ya think?

 

[easy]

That is gonna be one cosy interior dood, nice one 8)

 

[VeeDubMan]

i want to do something different on all the door cards so im tempted to rip up a few old vw magazines and stuff and make a collage of various pictures, reviews, tech help etc and then cover it with clear adhesive vinyl to protect them and make them easy to clean

what ya think?

Sounds good. Saw something similar in a 'surf' bay window van in one of the mags, just using surfing memorabilia. Don't forget to add some Early Bay articles in there too.